Great Fire
by teishamarie
Summary: When a storm causes a blackout at the Cullen house, they decide to tell eachother scary stories. When Carlisle tells his story, he recounts what really happened at the time of the Great Fire. To Be Revised.
1. Blackout

A/N:_ I had a research and I randomly came up with this. Read. !_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has been copyrighted. And everything is copyrighted, even I'm copyrighted. But that children, is called plagiarism._

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It was a stormy night outside in Forks. I would have liked to play baseball, the thunder was perfect, but the wind or pelting rain wasn't.

Lightning spread like sheets of white across the dark sky, the thunder booming in irregular patterns, loud and soft alike. It was foggy outside, the windows were condensed with moisture, frosting the glass, the only thing interrupting the cloudiness were the streaks of raindrops crawling down the windowpane.

The lights were flickering with the electrical interference before they shorted out fully. The children were in their rooms, except Edward and Alice who went to Bella's house to get an overnight bag, as she was staying overnight.

I closed my book and headed to Bella's room just as Esme went looking for the candles.

As I was edging around the corner of the hall to Edward's room, Bella had come the other way and run straight into my chest. I heard the wind getting knocked out of her with an 'oomph' and caught her before she fell to the floor.

"Careful Bella, we don't want Edward to come home and find you injured now do we?"

Her heartbeat sped up and that lovely pink colour spread across her cheeks.

"Uh . . . no?" Oh, I must have been 'dazzling' her.

"Sorry. I was unaware." She turned her eyes down immediately after I released her.

"Well, Carlisle, Edward has to get it from somewhere. I blame you old man." I feigned hurt by placing my hand on the left side of my chest. She rolled her eyes.

"Real mature. Let's get downstairs. You'll have to hold my hand, I can't see sh-anything."

"Nice save Bella."

"Oh hush." As requested, I lead her down the stairs. I let go of her hand as she reached the bottom because even though the electricity was still out, Esme had lit up the entire living room with candles. They were just plain white and the eerie glow filtered throughout the room. It looked just like the Phantom's lair in _Phantom Of The Opera. _Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper were seated in a half circle with their backs facing the south wall. Esme was sitting opposite to Rose, Bella opposite Emmett and I parked myself opposite Jasper, leaving two spaces open for Edward and Alice when they returned.

Bella curled up slightly at Esme's side, resting her head on her shoulder. Esme smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled at me.

I smiled back lovingly, I leaned over Bella's head and gave my wife a chaste kiss.

"Aww." Bella was peering up at us, her bright eyes lit with a face as though she was staring at a week old puppy.

"Bella, don't you mean ugh! I mean I knew Esme was a hopeless romantic, but Carlisle? That's unnatural."

"Oh yeah?" Bella cut in, "You're lucky you're sexy Emmett because everyone knows one of the main qualities women look for in men is being romantic," the family mumbled in agreement. "And Emmett, romantic just isn't you."

"My Carlisle can be more romantic than you in one night that you could be in a decade. Isn't that right sweetheart." I gave my wife another kiss in reply – longer, deeper this time.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett roll his eyes. Just because I'm cool.

Emmett cleared his throat and we broke apart, I gave him a look that said 'I. Hate. You', he snorted.

"Anyway, the powers gone out, time for scary stories. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a torch and shone it underneath his chin, trying to look scary – and for a vampire was failing miserably. I scoffed internally at his poor attempt.

"I'm starting off," He turned his voice into a creepy eerie voice. He cleared his throat and he began.

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Don't forget to review! It would be much appreciated!


	2. The Raven

_Disclaimer: I will own everything when I take over the world. First I will. . . Oh look, it's shiny! . . . Maybe not.  
Song of Chapter: Sweep - Blue Foundation (the first 5 minutes)  
Last Chapter: He cleared his throat and he began._

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"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore –

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

"'tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door –

Only this and nothing more." Within the first line of the poem, I knew this was not his. He thought he could get away with this?

"Emmett, are you serious?" I started, "You were just reciting Poe how d–"

"Carlisle, shh, I'm listening to the story. We all know it's Poe, but it's one of my favourites." Bella put a hand on my mouth to prove that she was serious about me keeping it shut. Through her hand I muttered a muffled reply of 'yes Bella.'

Emmett continued on with his story as if nothing ever happened. Bella stayed engrossed in the story, she barely blinked. Rose and Jasper tried to stay focused, but were distracted by the fact that Emmett looked ridiculous with that torch on his face. I attempted to stay focused, although it didn't work. I was constantly turning to Esme, admiring her beauty in the candlelight. The way the flickers of the candle reflected in her eyes, the shimmer of happiness as she looked down at Bella. She was truly amazing.

Oh, I am so whipped.

"And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted – nevermore!"

I huffed in relief as it ended. Maybe now I can concentrate.

"Who wants to go next?" Emmett gave everyone an ear to ear grin, dimples and all. No one spoke up, though instead of the crickets humming, Bella's thrumming heartbeat filled the silence.

Emmett stared at me right in this eye, his grin got larger – if it were possible – "Looks like it's Papa's turn. I wonder what Mr. Romantic can come up with." He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Bring it on son."

"Dad, don't say that ever again. Ever."

"Will do. Now pass the torch." Emmett threw me the torch and I snapped it in half. I smirked menacingly at Emmett, just as a loud clap of thunder echoed through the house, causing Bella to jump.

I'll get them good.

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_I know it's short. Forgive me?  
Next chapter will be longer and better. . . Hopefully.  
Tell me you thoughts on things in a review! ;)_


	3. The Demon's Massacre

_I smirked menacingly at Emmett, just as a loud clap of thunder echoed through the house, causing Bella to jump._

_I'll get them good._

A/N: Well, here is the final chapter. I cringed a bit - well a lot - when I wrote this, I hope I couldn't put my thoughts into words. It's a bit gory, so if you don't like gore turn around now. Just a word of warning. Enjoy.

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"It was 1666 (the Devil's year), my second year as a vampire – newborn status officially gone – and I had gained a position of respect by many in the community. Since I had been changed, I was more aware of the vampires around me as well as their habits such as, when they hunted or if they were in covens. There were many vampires in the city of London, hundreds more now that I knew what I was looking for.

In the warmer months where the sun was out more frequently, the vampires hid themselves. They hid in sewers, underwater, abandoned buildings, the catacombs and graveyards in what seemed to be a reverse hibernation period.

Once they went into hiding, they never came out once. They were starving themselves, voiding them of their only source of nourishment.

It was August, few days left in the month. The weather was cooling and human hearts were beating faster to keep warm and still, after about six months, not a sign of any other vampire other than a nomad who would pass through on a rare occasion. Then a storm hit."

At this point, the storm had increased in intensity. The rain was pounding on the rooftop and the thunder was rattling the windows. My voice turned dark and grave as I continued,

"The storm was much like it was tonight, the winds were blowing a gale, small hailstones were falling, the temperatures were freezing, the lightning forked violently towards the ground and the thunder bellowed, the sound resonating throughout the city. The scents of every human were being blown around hastily and it made the venom pool in my mouth. It was every scent you could imagine, a buffet of sorts of the finest meals. I was finding it difficult to control myself and I had fed a plenty merely hours previously, if it was difficult for me, I found it impossible to imagine what that would have done to the vampires who had been ravished of blood for months.

Unfortunately, I found out. The last day of August, a new moon at midnight, the night was black as pitch except for the lightning flashes to light up the sky behind the clouds.

They emerged from their hiding places, hunger evident in their eyes. They were weak, though only to other vampires, to humans their strength was still incredible.

The fact that they hadn't eaten made them irritable and furious. Inhaling the scents in one long drag sent them on a frenzy.

Each vampire lost coherency and let their instincts take over, not caring for a second that they were risking exposure. They ran at inhuman speeds and seized what they could with their brute strength. The fog was dense and you could see it rising above the rooftops, the rain ricocheted of the flimsy roof and the vampires themselves. They ran across the rooftops, only their silhouettes were seen as they faded into the darkness.

There was two different events that I saw that have stuck with me all these years and I will never forget and on both of these occasions, I was utterly helpless, I couldn't do a thing with out running the risk of being killed or exposing myself to the human or breaking my belief in being a pacifist. I was cemented to the ground boiling with fury.

The first, a male vampire, he wore white clothing, slightly dirty along the hems and yellowed with age. To humans, he was the epitome of beauty.

He slipped in a window at the side of the building, in a bedroom. It belonged to a young girl, no more than six.

He was standing next to her bed, so I could see his profile, his teeth were glistening, even in pure darkness, his eyes were black and the way he held his body showed he was consumed by his hunger. Possessed by it even. His fingers reached out to the girl, like the talons on an eagle. A flash of lightning struck across the sky and lit up the room for the room for the briefest of seconds, the shadow it cast was ghastly, an image of a monster. He caressed her cheek, letting it trail from eye level, down to her jaw and over to her lips. He had a tender touch when he touched her lips, gentle and that's where they lingered. The girl's eyebrows furrowed and she shuddered slightly from the cool touch and pulled her clutched, thin blanket further up her body.

As she moved to readjust the blanket, her caramel locks sprawled further along the pillow and exposed her neck even further.

His smile was menacing as he used his fingers to trace down to the base of her throat. His fingers curled around her throat and collarbone, the other grabbed her jaw. His grip was so tight the child whimpered from the pain and woke. Her lids flew open to see the beautiful stranger at her bedside.

'Angel?' she queried. Her voice was so sweet, so pure and innocent.

'No child. Demon." Her eyes widened with fear and her pulse would race from the adrenaline, her intakes of breath were sharp and jagged. The poor child had no clue that her fear made her even more tantalizing to the vampire. He smiled as if he gained a prize so valuable, so precious. A growl grew in his throat and he lunged.

As his teeth tore through her skin with ease and precision, the venom was released in to the girl's body and began to burn. The pain is agonizing to an adult who had suffered extreme burns, but for a child who wouldn't have experienced more than a grazed knee would have been beyond excruciating. She let out mangled screams from the pain, she couldn't scream properly as she was choking for air. How I could watch it happen and do nothing was just as bad as committing the crime itself, I can never forgive myself. I watched as she tried to scream with the monster at her throat sucking greedily. You could just see the euphoria he was in as he sucked the life from her fragile form. No one came to her aid as they were already dead.

He licked the blood from her neck that had trickled from her wound and stood up, wiping the blood on the back of his hand and leapt out the window, leaving the girl.

The rain picked up speed and lightning flashed over the sky continuously giving me a clear view of her. The blanket lay limp on her waist, her grasp collapsed, her head tilted to one side, showing the wound. Her hair was still sprawled on the pillow, her lips were no longer full and pink, they were thin, cold and blue. Even though she lay there lifeless, the expression on her face was at a stage of unrest; she still looked as though she was in pain, like she was still suffering. I let it happen, then I just walked away, cringing at the sight."

I let the emotion seep into my voice, the hatred I felt for myself was evident. My voice was getting louder and louder. I took a deep breath to try and calm down before I continued.

"The second was a gory event where legends were true. The legend of _Bloody Mary_. During her rein she committed religious sacrificial murders and when she died the legend has it that she would appear at your bedside holding a bloodstained knife. A vampire started that rumour; people believed it, but no one survived to tell people it was certainly true. For newborns, where they were bitten is always a weak spot for them, until they outgrow their newborn status, the entry spot of the venom is always tender. Mary had been a vampire for about a month before she was beheaded. The guillotine sliced through her weak spot – her neck. She was buried in two pieces six feet under. It was there she was able to reassemble herself. She rose again and sought revenge on anyone. Her vendetta was on no one in particular, just to kill, to try and fulfill her duty just as if she was still in power.

I was able to witness an act. The night after the prior event to be exact. I watched from afar. Her style of killing and draining was a much more . . . erotic approach.

He was an attractive young male, roaming the street too late – God knows why – and she approached him from behind.

She dragged him back to a house. Not necessarily his own, but a house. A candle was flickering, she threw him onto the bed. She pulled up her dress to her thigh where her garter sat. She pulled out a knife and as the legend said, it was stained with the blood of humans. She started by lightly pressing the sharp blade against his body, mainly his face and arms. She would suckle the wounds, nipping and licking as she went. She began removing his clothing and worked her way around, with longer drags of the blade. She played with him for a while, I thought she would just slit his throat, take the blood and flee.

I was wrong, she began to skin his thighs until muscle was exposed. He yelled in pain and the blood flowed up and toppled over. Veins and arteries were sliced, she threw the skin away. By this time, he was unconscious and she began taking the blood and licking at the muscle, only taking miniscule amounts of blood as if she was teasing and training herself to resist. She continued with each thigh, his calves, his biceps, and all the larger muscles. When she finally finished with her sick form of foreplay, she plunged the knife straight into his chest, as you would with the kitchen knife in the chopping board and attacked the jugular gaining extreme pleasure for herself, she took the knife out and straddled him, taking any excess blood she could before jumping out the window, knife in her mouth licking the blood off, just as a human would lick the chocolate off a wooden spoon.

The body just lay there naked and decapitated in a stranger's bed with skin thrown around the room.

It was a sickening sight and for the second time I cringed and merely walked away. I just got up and walked. The images constantly running through my mind, haunting my memory. I was walking down the street, drowning in the images, but never fully lost in thought as the screams from the humans pierced through the quiet, foggy air. The sounds of pain, the sounds of lives being taken from monsters that have no sense of humanity in the slightest.

By now it had reached about one in the morning on September second. That was when the Volturi finally decided to step in. After countless deaths, of thousands of humans were tortured and murdered – died – they finally decided to step in.

Back then, that was the first ever time I had heard of the Volturi. A guard of at least fifteen not including Aro, Marcus and Caius, just roam into the city, seeking out the vampires and any human who could have been bitten. Though I had no idea who they were exactly.

By the time they had caught my scent and found me, I was sure I was going to die. Though they noticed the colour of me eyes and queried. I told them that I had only ever hunted off animal blood and had never brutalized a human.

They were curious to say the least, Aro introduced himself and held out his hand as if to shake my hand. All my thoughts shifted through his mind and found I was innocent. He answered the thoughts I had asked about them and offered me a place with them. I said I would have to think about it and then he told me I would live as long as I fled London. I was practically running before they even finished the sentence. As I ran, the metallic screeching of limbs being tugged apart roared through the air.

I was in Scotland the next morning and word was going around the country that the entire of city of London was engulfed in an accidental fire. I knew better. Every vampire involved in the massacre were torn to shreds by the guard and the pieces spread around the city and burned separately. The whole process took four days and in those four days I prayed for those who died at the hands of our kind. The fire to the humans was known as _The Great Fire,_ for those in the vampire world, it was known as _The Demon's Massacre_."

I hadn't realised my eyes closed as I reveled in the haunting memories, but I opened my eyes and refocused into reality. The room was still glowing in the candlelight and the storm still hadn't let up. The children looked at me, eyes and mouths wide open. Bella was cringing into Esme's side and Esme kissed Bella's forehead and rubbed her arm reassuringly. I felt the presence of Edward and Alice in the house. As it happened, Alice was sitting outside of Bella's view and Edward was behind Bella.

The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end and Edward whispered at her jaw as a clap of thunder rumbled through the house. "Scared?"

She jumped about three feet in the air and squealed, grabbing a tighter grip on Esme. She looked around and her eyes settled on Edward.

"Edward don't do that again!" He chuckled in reply.

"Carlisle," Emmett spoke, "wow, I mean that was pretty scary. Did that really happen?"

"Yes Emmett of course it happened. Not many vampires have heard that story as it is almost forbidden to talk about. The Volturi had to eradicate so many vampires and they couldn't do it without the expense of some of their own. It was a dark day and not many people tend to talk about it."

"Well," Jasper mused, "regardless of Carlisle's dark and disturbing past, he kicks Emmett's ass at scary stories."

"Here, here," the family chanted.

"Well at least I can say that something good came out of this."

"And what's that? Is that even possible?" Bella chimed

"The choices I made have kept me here today. And because of those choices, I have you guys. And that would top the darkest of dark pasts."

The family 'awed' at my gesture, though Emmett snorted.

"Mr. Romantic, your such as sentimental pansy. You, father dearest, have problems."

"I try, Emmett. I really do."

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_A/N: Well I hope I didn't ruin it with the fluff at the end. I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review! I'd love to hear your thoughts, it'll always help me to improve!_


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